If it were for a speeding car, or visiting a dentist, or speaking in public - we could rationalise the fear and 'understand' it as being an uncomfortable experience.
Alas, this is one of those fears I have little idea about. Most phobias arise from emotionally upsetting or traumatic events but in some cases there are other reasons why we have these fears.

It wouldn't suprise me if there were some underlying medical event going on in yours and similar cases - something like 'depth perception' - and akin to 'vertigo' which is a well known and common fear.

The possible origins of this are that your mind is perceiving something in such a way that it doesn't 'like' what it sees - the same happens in Trypophobia (fear of holes) and Vertigo (fear of heights) - and when the brain is unhappy it sends out messages to prepare the body. If it's not sure what it's frighetned of - then I'd guess it sends out a 'general alarm' to prepare the body for 'something/anything' which is where the feeling of anxiety arises - as it's for reasons unknown.

Even without knowing the reasons why we get anxious tho it is still possible to learn to deal with the anxiety. Relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and the such can help us to learn ways of coping with the anxiety - even if we can't find the cause of it.

It may also be possible to desensitise yourself to the sensation by using these techniques to keep yourself calm whilst taking your time to view and become accumstomed to such images. Reducing your anxiety whilst looking at the thing you fear helps us to become better at dealing with it.

So, tho I can't give you an answer or reason as to why you react this way to these things - it is still possible to do something about them.

I never thought I would come across this kind of topic where people are discussing about the same fear I've been having for more than 10 years! any kind of man made objects underwater which I can (or can’t see them) give me the creeps, especially if they’re old and rusty and not to mention, massively huge. even reading this topic and descriptions of what kind of related underwatery things you guys are afraid of made me feel uncomfortable, I even googled the NASA pool as someone suggested earlier and I couldn’t even look at the screen while the photos were loading, it looks absolutely terrifying. but reading all this also got me thinking a lot.

I have always been afraid of three things – mega large rooms or objects, tunnels and underwater stuff – and all these three fears combine into my biggest fear ever, which are submarine tunnels. it all started when I was about 10 years old and my dad decided to take the family on a tourist trip around the island where we were on. we got into a boat with other people and made a few stops around the island and I’ll never forget this scene in my head when we were approaching this huge dark tunnel built into the mountain at the sea. I don’t remember being terrified that day but I got terrified of it years later when my fear of underwater objects and tunnels grew even more. I swear it took me 10 years to actually find the strenght to google the damn place, even seeing the photos of this submarine tunnel makes me wanna pass out, I can’t imagine ever again going near that place and I can’t even believe I visited it at one point in my life… and this is where my fear started, not just the fear of submarine tunnels but the fear of basically any man made structures under water or partially in the water. there’s just something so damn creepy about a man made object being partially underwater because you can actually see how terrifying and rusty it looks like underwater, it almost looks dead if I can say so. I’ve been visiting the seaside my whole life and loved swimming in the ocean but so many times I came across some huge objects just resting underwater like bricks, concrete blocks, buoy ropes and objects, old tires and it's scary, I can't even look at it. I don’t even have to mention how much I can’t stand the sight of shipwrecks, the docks, ocean pools. I was once in this situation where I had to swim through the middle of two huge old yachts, never again!….

I also have the same fear with public pools (but not all of them), and that’s another story from my childhood. me and my family would always go to spa place where they had an outside and an inside pool and they were both so terrifying because the inside pool was the darkest pool I’ve ever seen, to this day I still have no clue how deep it was as I couldn’t see anything underwater and I mostly stayed at the pool stairs and didn’t dare to actually go into the pool but I had to swim the whole pool once and it was terrifying, just imagine swimming in a huge pool of black water, absolutely scary. the outside pool maybe even left a bigger mark on me because it had these huge dark water drains and I didn’t dare to go near that side of the pool but just thinking about them, I still have a clear picture in my head of those drains pumping the water in and out, completely terrifying.

I guess the good thing is that the shipwrecks and water drains can’t unearth themselves and go haunt us and chase us, it’s just the thought/sight of those things that makes us feel uncomfortable.

Hi, my mom and I have this EXACT phobia. The anxiety and fear only occur with man made objects, such as pipes or propellers. Worst of course, entire sunken ships. Lid swim with dolphins in a coral reef any day, just don't add anything artificial and I'm good to go!

(04-23-2011 11:09 AM)beegee123 Wrote: Hi, first time posting! I randomly thought of Googling my longtime fear just now, and found out that a lot of people are scared of the same thing based on what I read on other sites.

I have an intense fear of underwater mechanical objects (even the hatches/vents at the bottoms of swimming pools). Anything robotic or even just man-made in the dark underwater scares the CRAP out of me (BTW I'm also pretty freaked out by Terminators from the movies - especially in Terminator Salvation where they make the creepy robot noises and have the even-worse underwater ones!)

Remember the sunken sub scene from Finding Nemo? Those underwater mines REALLY get me. I hate stuff like that! The sub itself isn't as bad for some reason, neither are sunken ships - though those do irk me a little.

Even worse, the scenes from any movie that show the propeller/underside of a ship. One of my worst fears is dying like the poor horse in that movie the Ring, being sucked down under the ship into the propellor. UGH! I shudder just thinking about it.

I once had a dream many years ago about being in some kind of industrial pool of water like at a treatment plant or even a nuclear reactor plant, and I looked down into the partially lit water and saw some kind of hatch or something along the floor, and then I looked and saw some huge random industrial-looking machine partially submerged with some kind of robot arm underwater - remembering the dream has been scary to me ever since.

I'm also afraid of when huge ships/cranes/machines are partially underwater and I look down and just see them trail off into nothing in the darkness. Freaking. Scary. I don't know why but the thought of being in the water with them makes my skin crawl. Its especially bad when I'm on a big ship and look down into the water right down the side of it, though its usually worse when the ship is stationary at dock then when its moving (now that I think of it, docks kind of scare me too!)

Anyone else experience something like this? I feel a little better knowing other people have similar issues but the fear itself is just so random!

I am so glad I found some people I can talk about this with. Everyone I tell thinks i'm weird... I've had the phobia of big things (either man-made or natural) underwater for as long as I can remember. I can't even look at pictures on the internet without immediately closing the screen or covering my eyes [NO JOKE]. Today I was looking at this article that had pictures of the "33 most beautiful abandoned places in the world", and one of them showed a HUGE statue or something at the bottom of the ocean, and there was a scuba diver right next to it. I freaked out! Don't even get me started on sunken ships or submarines... I had a dream that my science teacher told me that the only way I would pass the class, was if I swam down to a ship wreck and brought her something from it. When I was just inches away from the ship, I woke up. It was TERRIFYING. I didn't want to sleep anymore so I wouldn't have that same dream. In the movie, Titanic, I always look away when they show the part at the beginning/very end where they are looking at the remains of the ship. I just can't. Propellers and anchors scare me so much, especially when it's a big ship (cruise/dhow). I also hate swimming in the ocean when I know that there is a possibility of there being a whale or shark or anything of the sort. If I was swimming, and a whale/shark passed next to me, I would most likely pass out right there. I would NEVER EVER EVER go diving, even if I was getting paid 1 million dollars. I just wouldn't be able to do it. The thought of getting close to huge coral reefs, and fish, and whatever other thing there might be down there makes me feel so anxious. So yeah.... Can you tell I've been holding all of this in for the longest time? It's horrible. OH AND ONE MORE THING: Have you ever seen one of those pools astronauts train in before going to space? It's a SUPER DEEP pool, they put on their suits and get in it. Under the water, there is this huge machine that looks just like a "space station"... Idk how to explain it but it freaks me out so badly... O.o

It certainly sounds like you have an issue and i just wonder what could have triggered it off.

YOu said you have had it for as long as you remember....in that case you really should discuss some options with your GP. Its the only way that you can start taking posotive steps to help cure the problem.

Yes! Anything submerged in water terrifies me. I realized this on a water ride at an amusement park when I was like 7. The chains and machinery terrified me. Sunken ships, submarines, water towers, buoys, pool filters and drains... basically anything to do with water. Even fish and other aquatic creatures scare the shit outta me.

And yes, I also wonder what could have triggered it because I have never really had any unpleasant experience in the water... I did have this one friend when I was little whose hair got tangled at the bottom of a pool ladder and she almost drowned... I've never forgotten that, but it's still strange.

I have always been afraid of underwater objects I can't see, particularly those which are man made and ESPECIALLY those which seem "out of place."

For example, I looked up the NASA pool and while I find the images slightly unsettling, they bother me less because the setting of the underwater machinery is so obviously meant for that specific purpose.

My fear would increase tenfold if the same pool was empty, save for just one piece of underwater machinery which was visible in the photos. That bothers me so much more, the sense that the object is not supposed to be there and is grossly out of place.

A thought that has always bothered me which no one has mentioned yet is an underwater car. I've always had a paralyzing fear of swimming in a lake that has murky water and my foot touching some part of an underwater car.

Just to clarify, my fear has NOTHING to do with being pulled under or drowning. It has only to do with the thought of part of me touching something which I can't see and which was man made and wasn't intended to be submerged in water.

The thought makes my skin crawl and is literally unbearable to me.

Submarines don't seem as menacing to me because they are meant to be under the water. Not saying I'd be comfortable in the water with one beneath me, but I find it less frightening than something which was not supposed to be underwater to begin with.

In a similar vein, I have also always had a strange and non-specific fear of any large object that strikes me as being "out of place," both on land and in water.

Though I think it has more to do with the sense of being out of place than it does size, the two combined make the fear more intense.

I can remember various times in my life when I looked at something (above water, on land) and was just filled with an overwhelming sense of dread and the distinct thought "this shouldn't be here," echoing inside my mind.

(04-24-2014 04:48 PM)Snooks Wrote: Do you have any issues regarding taking a bath? In the shower? Does that cause any anxiety?

No, I am totally okay with baths and showers... It's just the ocean that makes me feel that way.

That is exactly what I feel as well. It's literally an overwhelming sense of dread and vertigo that is just horrible. I agree with the astronaut pools, I too saw a picture of one once and just couldn't stand it. I'm not afraid of drowning or being pulled under either, but just knowing that it's there.... Anything from cars, to shipwrecks and submarines makes my skin crawl. Also, if I was in a small boat or something, and we were out in the middle of the ocean, and suddenly a cruise ship, per say, passed by us, my reaction would not be pretty.
Exactly! I would never even go diving, for just the fear and paranoia of there being chance of me seeing any of these things...

I'm so happy to read this topic. I am not the lone crazy person with this fear. I think maybe something bad happened to me next to a dam in my past life. I don't really believe in past lives, but that is the only explanation I can think of for such an intense irrational fear.

I DREAD dams, bridge posts, the side of a ship - the whole thing especially the underwater part - dock posts, ropes and chains underwater. Dams are the worst because they are usually in the middle of nowhere and not only do they have huge metal pieces underwater, but they are mechanical with chains and moving metal parts. Awful. Although going near the underside of a bridge is also terrible. The other day I took my lunch down by the river and it would have had an awesome beatuiful lunch hour, but I had to turn my back on the water because there was a bridge and the huge metal posts were quite near me. Being on top of a bridge is fine, as long as I don't look at the posts, and a wooden one would be somewhat bearable, but metal ones are not ok. At all.

What is up with this? It does not interfere with my life enough to get therapy for it, but it is bothersome, that is for sure. Especially since I live on the Great Lakes!

I know this is repetitive of everyone else's post, but to is so good to talk to people who have the same thing!

I just found out that oFear existed and I had to post! I have an intense fear of large machinery. I used to work at a hospital for years and I'd always become paralyzed with fear anytime I got near the door to the MRI room. It had like 50 warning signs all over it and there was a constant humming noise emanating from the other side. I always felt like I would be sucked to the door and killed.

Anyway, I share the same phobia of underwater objects...especially machinery. Pipes, mechanical structures, oil rigs, chains, even just sunken trees. It all makes me lightheaded and I start to panic. I'm a 27 year old man lol. I've seen the NASA training pool and yeah...I can't look at the photos too long because I honestly, no matter how ridiculous this sounds, I honestly feel like I'm going to get sucked in to the photograph and drown! It's ridiculous. I remember watching a video of a some MIT students messing around with underwater nuclear reactors (I dare you to Google that...) and I about had a heart attack. Even now, looking at photos of it, I freak out. I'm so glad I'm not the only one with this exact fear!

I can't quite pinpoint why these things are so terrifying to me. I just feel helpless anytime I look at an overly large pool of water especially if it has huge pipes leading in/out of it or it's lit up and I can see structures underneath. It feels like I'm going to instantly be transported under the water down there and just drown.

(12-07-2014 03:18 PM)zeioIIDX Wrote: I just found out that oFear existed and I had to post! I have an intense fear of large machinery. I used to work at a hospital for years and I'd always become paralyzed with fear anytime I got near the door to the MRI room. It had like 50 warning signs all over it and there was a constant humming noise emanating from the other side. I always felt like I would be sucked to the door and killed.

Anyway, I share the same phobia of underwater objects...especially machinery. Pipes, mechanical structures, oil rigs, chains, even just sunken trees. It all makes me lightheaded and I start to panic. I'm a 27 year old man lol. I've seen the NASA training pool and yeah...I can't look at the photos too long because I honestly, no matter how ridiculous this sounds, I honestly feel like I'm going to get sucked in to the photograph and drown! It's ridiculous. I remember watching a video of a some MIT students messing around with underwater nuclear reactors (I dare you to Google that...) and I about had a heart attack. Even now, looking at photos of it, I freak out. I'm so glad I'm not the only one with this exact fear!

I can't quite pinpoint why these things are so terrifying to me. I just feel helpless anytime I look at an overly large pool of water especially if it has huge pipes leading in/out of it or it's lit up and I can see structures underneath. It feels like I'm going to instantly be transported under the water down there and just drown.

There's a lot of odd fears we all have. Most of these fears originate from a time when we were young. Our brains react normally to an abnormal circumstance. Hopefully someday there will be a cure.

I can remember being terrified of my grandparents pool scrubber that would slowly make its way around the pool. I though it had eyes and would get me when I least expected it.

I was recently in California visiting my cousin and we took his boat to go snorkeling. I can remember jumping off his boat and being absolutely horrified at seeing the underside of it with its propellers and algae growing on it. He thought I was crazy!

Also, seeing concrete at the bottom of the harbor gave me the chills as well. I really have no idea why. I am fine when it is in swimming pools. I think it might have to do with the depth and murkiness of the water or just the sheer size of the harbor and the concrete.

I think it is odd that the same thing that is so normal to me above water is so frightening to me when it is underwater, especially since it is man made and I know it does not have a mind of its own.

Sorry if this is of no use I was just excited to see someone had the same fear as me
I figured out this is called Submechanophobia. If you have this fear do not google image search this term. I can expect some nightmares tonight .